Category: Constitutional Law

Animals, Constitutional Law, Courts, Environment

PETA Accused Of Pursuing Bloggers After Criticism Of Its Animal Shelter

100px-Peta.svg People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is famous for its public displays designed to shock and sometimes disgust people (here and here and here). However, PETA appears a bit thin skinned this week with legal attacks on critics who accused the organization of killing animals in a Virginia shelter. PETA reportedly is asking a court to give it the personal information, email addresses, phone numbers, and other data for three bloggers who reacted to an April 2 posting by a no-kill shelter advocate. One of the bloggers called PETA “animal Kevorkians.”

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Leading Blogger Arrested In Vietnam In Major Crackdown On Free Speech

130528084704_truong_duy_nhat_464x261_truongduynhatfacebookTruong Duy Nhat, 49, is a leading blogger in Vietnam who has been challenging the government on its authoritarian laws. The Communist government has now responded by arresting him for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state.” This truly Orwellian charge could result in a seven year sentence for the blogger.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Meet Ronald Machen: The Obama Administration’s Media Menace

Ronald_Machen_US_AttorneyWhile Attorney General Eric Holder is legitimately taking the heat for his scorched Earth policy toward journalists and whistleblowers.  His deputy, Jim Coles, is also being criticized for signing off on the investigation of the Associated Press. However, a third prosecutor has largely escaped attention in the scandal and is equally worthy of immediate termination for his role in this scandal.  He is Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.  As with Holder, Machen was a friend and campaign contributor to Obama when he was selected to serve as U.S. Attorney.  He proceeded to discard any concern for the freedom of the press in his investigation, particularly his pursuit of sources for Fox reporter James Rosen.  He was also involved in the refusal to prosecute Holder for contempt of Congress in refusing to turn over critical documents in the “Fast and Furious” scandal.

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Academia, Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

The Rise of the Fourth Branch of Government

3branchesBelow is today’s column in the Washington Post’s Outlook Section on the dangers of America’s growing administrative state. Ask any elementary student and you will hear how the Framers carefully designed a tripartite, or three-branch, system to govern the United States. This separation of powers was meant to protect citizens from tyranny by making every branch dependent on each other to carry out the functions of government. These three branches held together through a type of outward pressure – each holding the other in place through their countervailing forces. Add a fourth branch and the structure begins to collapse. That is precisely what is happening as federal agencies grow beyond the traditional controls and oversight of the legislative and executive branches. The question is how a tripartite system can function as a quadripartite system. The answer, as demonstrated by the last two decades, is not well. The shift from a tripartite to a quadripartite system is not the result of simply the growth in the size of the government. Rather, it is a concern with the degree of independence and autonomy in the fourth branch that led me to write this column.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

Eric Holder Should Go!

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

200px-HK_Central_Statue_Square_Legislative_Council_Building_n_Themis_sAbout one year into Barack Obama’s first term as President I began calling the White House demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder should be fired. I was disturbed by the lack of prosecutions and by the trend towards stricter enforcement of the Drug Laws. Clearly this was not the change I envisioned from a Constitutional Law professor, or his Attorney General. I guess my support in the election wasn’t important enough to get The President to hear my plea to rid himself and us, of both Holder and Geithner. Here we are now more than four years later and both of these bozos are still on the job and doing harm to our Constitution and our economy. With the Associated Press eavesdropping scandal we have just the latest contretemps committed by the Justice Department and its hapless leader. Having lived through Attorney General’s John Mitchell and Ed Meese, I understand full well the importance of the position and how if it is filled with the wrong man mischief will arise. Eric Holder is in the tradition of both these men since he too seems nonplussed when it comes to upholding the constitution. This article was in reaction to reading about Holder signing off on the AP probe in Thursday’s Huffington Post, I give credit to them for this story and I will provide links.  Here are six instances of Holder’s using his office to achieve what I see as disastrously wrong actions. Continue reading “Eric Holder Should Go!” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

Obama Orders Holder To Investigate . . . Holder?

President_Barack_ObamaholderericPresident Barack Obama recently came out to remind people that “Leaks related to national security can put people at risk.” He however denied knowledge of this and the other scandals. In the past, Obama has been able to weather criticism by civil libertarians due to his iconic status with many citizens. This time is different. The media (rather belatedly) is seeing his Administration in a different light as a true threat to liberty. Now, Obama has given a speech proclaiming that he now thinks that reporters should not fear investigation for just doing their jobs so he has ordered an investigation . . . by Eric Holder and the Justice Department. Of course, it was disclosed on the same day that it was Holder who approved the abusive targeting of Fox reporter Jeff Rosen.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Society

Report: Holder Personally Approved Search Warrant On Fox Reporter

holderericAttorney General Eric Holder recently appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and denied any involvement in the abuse searches targeting the Associated Press by the Obama Administration. Holder seemed to morph with his predecessor Alberto Gonzales with a mantra of “I have no knowledge” and “I had no involvement” in the scandal. It was a disturbing defense in one of the greatest attacks on the free press in modern times. Now, however, Holder’s fingerprints have been found on an equally disturbing targeting of a Fox reporter, James Rosen. As with the Associated Press, Rosen was targeted for simply speaking with a source in a story involving classified information. Even his parents telephone information was seized in the abusive operation where Rosen was declared a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act.

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Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

New York Times Editors Blast Obama For Attack On Free Press

220px-Nytimes_hqPresident_Barack_ObamaI previously discussed the slew of recent conservatives who has “had a change of heart” on equal rights of gays and lesbians after a family member who out as homosexual.  Like some conservative women who reject most privacy principles except abortion rights, it is hard to celebrate belated endorsements of civil liberties which happen to benefit these politicians or their families.  I had the same reaction to some journalists who gave only passing attention to President Obama’s various attacks on civil liberties over the last four years. However, now that his Administration has turned on journalists, we are seeing editorials like today’s New York Times column stating “the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.”

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics

Arizona Atheist Gives Opening Legislative Prayer

MENDEZArizona had an extraordinary moment this week during the opening prayer. No it is not what you think of some sectarian screed or other controversy. To the contrary, it was an unprecedented act of inclusion when the legislature allowed an atheist to open the session. An atheist state lawmaker tasked with delivering the opening prayer for this afternoon’s session of the House of Representatives asked that people not bow their heads. Democratic Representative Juan Mendez, of Tempe, is an atheist and opened the session by asking his colleagues not to bow their heads but look at each other.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Top IRS Official To Invoke Fifth Amendment Before Congress

160px-IRS.svgI have previously stated that I fail to see the basis for criminal charges in the IRS scandal. Prior administrations have faced allegations of targeting opposing groups and such matters have been treated as abuses but not crimes. Yet, various news sites are reporting this morning that Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS division, will invoke the Fifth Amendment before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Her counsel asked the Committee to withdraw the demand for her testimony in light of her intention to refuse to testify on the grounds that it may incriminate her.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Baltimore Police Sued For Allegedly Beating and Arresting Woman Who Filmed Them In Public

114px-Baltimore_Police_Department_logo_patchWe have yet another case of police being accused of beating a citizen for filming them in public. Makia Smith says that Baltimore police beat her up and smashed her camera when they filmed them beating a man in the street. She is now suing the Baltimore Police Department, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and police Officers Nathan Church, William Pilkerton, Jr., Nathan Ulmer and Kenneth Campbell in Federal Court.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics

Justice Department Declared Fox Reporter Possible “Co-Conspirator” In 2010 Investigation

President_Barack_Obama220px-Richard_NixonAs the scandal over the attack on the press continues in the Associated Press investigation, another such attack has come to light. The Obama Administration in 2010 investigated Fox News correspondent Jeff Rosen and the FBI treated him as “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” for merely speaking with a source. It was a perfectly Nixonian moment — yet another example of how Obama has adopted many of the same abuses as Richard Nixon. While journalists, public interest groups, and even Democratic members have denounced the attack on the media in the Associated Press investigation, Obama stepped forward to defend the investigation and praise the work of the Justice Department. He doubled down on those complaining about his Administration’s shocking record on whistleblowers and reporters by saying that he would make “no apologies” for the greatest attack on the media in decades.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Obama Recess Appointments Found Unconstitutional By Second Appellate Court

President_Barack_ObamaI have previously testified and written about President Barack Obama’s use of recess appointments, which I viewed as flagrantly unconstitutional. Recently, the D.C. Circuit agreed with that view and found that the Obama Administration had violated the recess appointment powers. Now a second appellate court has joined that view, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. I have two law review articles coming out on these appointments and more broadly the abuse of recess appointment powers in modern presidencies. See Jonathan Turley, Recess Appointments in the Age of Regulation, 93 Boston University Law Review ___ (2013) and Jonathan Turley, Constitutional Adverse Possession: Recess Appointments and the Role of Historical Practice in Constitutional Interpretation, 2103 Wisconsin Law Review ___ (2013)

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Science, Society

Is It Getting Cold In Here?

Stock Photo of the Consitution of the United States and Feather Quillby Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

That free speech is under attack by the governments local and Federal should be manifestly apparent from the stories that have appeared of the last few years here at Res Ipsa Loquitur.  In articles from our host, myself and my fellow guest bloggers, we’ve seen open attacks on free speech as a right proper, attacks on anonymous political free speech, the prosecution and persecution of whistleblowers and the erosion of shield laws protecting reporters and attacks on free speech and pluralism  in general in the form of blasphemy laws just to name a few of the threats that have come to our attention. What is most troubling is that the Federal government has stepped up their efforts to outright infringe upon the free speech rights of citizens and the press and chill the right however possible. Free speech is critical for the function of democracy. Without dissent, there can be no debate, only the dictates of the strong over the weak which is by definition tyranny. That is one of the reasons that it was so important that the Founders protected it in the 1st Amendment. However, they felt in particular that the freedom of the press was a not just free speech, but a very special kind of free speech that merited both special mention and protection in the 1st.  The 1st Amendment reads in relevant part:

Congress shall make no law [. . .] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”.

As we know, there are legitimate reasonable restrictions on free speech such as defamation, incitement and threats (particularly threats of violence).  So before we look at the two present instances of the chilling of free speech – one a local story about a graduation and one the national story concerning the DOJ accessing the phone records for hundreds of reporters working for the Associated Press – let us first ask examine what is meant by the term “chilling free speech”.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Man Uses Private Drone To Spy On Neighbors

220px-Aeryon_Scout_In_FlightThere was an interesting confrontation in Seattle this week where a man flew a drone just feet away from a family home. The drone was camera-equipped and the mother called police. Before the man left, he insisted that he had a right to use a private drone to surveil his neighbors. No it is not John Ashcroft’s neighborhood. I wanted to clarify a couple of points before others take to the air for some private snooping.

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